Employment Law Information Network
All Things Labor and Employment Law
By: Ensuring Employee Handbook Compliance During a Business Transaction or Restructuring
As the economy changes, corporate restructures, mergers and acquisitions are on the rise. There is a plethora of employment-related issues that should be heavily vetted in advance of a corporate transaction as the target company’s employment-related obligations and liabilities may,
Almost every employer should maintain an employee handbook containing key employment policies. However, employers often misunderstand the role of handbooks. Below we discuss the most common mistakes in preparing employee handbooks, and the best practices in this important area.
Multistate employers often face the difficult task of finding the most effective way to prepare their handbooks while ensuring compliance not only with federal law, but also with the applicable state, local, and even international laws of the jurisdictions in which they operate. As many multistate employers continue to grow
There are numerous reasons why employers should take the time to update their handbooks on an annual basis, at a minimum. However, many employers, including those in the construction industry, undervalue the benefits a current, legally compliant handbook can have, and unfortunately, having an out-of-date handbook can be just as risky as having no handbook at all.
The National Labor Relations Act governs what most private-sector employers can say and do with respect to employee “concerted” or group activities, whether they are represented by a union or not. This includes scrutiny by the National Labor Relations Board of workplace rules and policies that may interfere with
With the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020, many employers were busy dealing with staffing issues, safety concerns, and COVID-19–related legislation. There may have been little to no time to address handbook policies. With many changes on the horizon in 2021 under President Biden’s administration and the adaptations in the
On December 14, 2017, the National Labor Relations Board issued an important decision in The Boeing Co., 365 NLRB No. 154 (2017), where the Board’s new three-member majority established a new standard for evaluating the validity of employer rules, policies, and handbook provisions under the National Labor Relations Act (“the Act”).
Executive Summary: On December 14, 2017, in a 3-2 decision, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) overruled the “reasonably construe” standard it established in Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia, 343 NLRB 646 (2004), to determine whether a facially neutral rule or handbook policy violates an employee’s Section 7 rights. See The Boeing Company and Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, IFTPE Local 2001, Cases 19-CA-090932, 19-CA-090948, and 19-CA-095296.
While off-the-shelf employee handbooks can be cost-efficient in the short-term, sometimes they leave important employer defenses on the table. This is particularly true for state-specific defenses.
Most organizations would agree that their people are among their most important assets. So why is it that so few organizations believe that their HR department is one of their most important divisions? At a time when the President of the United States is calling for building America again, buying American again, and creating those great-paying American jobs again, Michael Lotito, co-chair of Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute and a Littler shareholder, explores many of the reasons why HR is not just critical to this endeavor, but will be the driving force behind it.
During the prior Administration, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) scrutinized employment policies contained in handbooks and policy manuals, and found many of the policies unlawful under the theory that they “chilled” the exercise of employees’ Section 7 rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Virtually no category of policy was immune from challenge—the NLRB invalidated policies ranging from confidentiality, cameras, and e-mail usage to media relations, just to name a few.
Executive Summary: For a foodie, there’s no greater place to be than in New York.
A Nov. 24, 2015, decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over the Carolinas, about an arbitration provision included in an employee handbook serves as a warning to employers to review employee handbooks and agreements for the new year.
